The purpose of the article is to measure the outside potential of the OECD countries with the help of the K-index, an indicator we created after conducting a survey on it. Later on the index will be used to classify Hungary’s performance in a three-dimensional matrix of institutions. After an analysis on the data of OECD economies, we have concluded that the developed countries can be divided into four groups, and these four groups can be distinguished by four main factors: macroeconomic performance, knowledge-based entrepreneurial environment, guarantees of market competition and international attractiveness. These factors summarize the institutional conditions that influence an economy’s ability to make use of the opportunities provided by the global market.